Pastor John Collins' Answer to Paul Harvey's If I Were the Devil: A Letter From God

 Pastor John Collins: A Letter From God

Pastor John Collins, evangelist, of Love That Cross Ministries continues to bring hope to us, bringing God back into lives that are missing hope.  Paul Harvey read a broadcast entitled “If I Were the Devil” in the 1960’s.  That particular broadcast is eerily still as accurate for today’s world as it was 50 years ago.  Pastor John Collins presented “A Letter From God”  during a sermon that gives us God’s point of view and feels quite like it came from Him. 

God really doesn’t want us to suffer, to be sad, to be lost, to be miserable.  He created us, His children for His pleasure, and it is His pleasure to give us good things.  He is a just God, and He doesn’t simply give everyone what they want when they want it.  He wants us to come to him willingly, by our choice.  He loves us whether we recognize Him or not.  He waits patiently for the time when we will turn to Him in love and faith.  

Pastor John Collins: Truth in Preaching

Pastor John Collins tells us the truth about God, about Jesus Christ, about the scriptures and the Gospel and how we have fallen far from the Cross of salvation, deny the existence of God who loves us, who is just and who tests us to grow in faith in Him every day.  Each day is a test of our faith, and God waits for us to realize He is as real as the air we breathe and the ground we walk on.  He wants us to turn from hate, from despair, from the sadness that simply prevails in this world, to talk to Him in prayer, to learn to love Him with all our hearts, souls, minds and strengths.  He is our God, and He gives us chance after chance, forgiveness after forgiveness.  

 This is Pastor John Collins’ Letter from God:

LETTER FROM GOD

My Children,

My wounded and hurt children, what shall I say to you? I know that your hearts are broken and your spirits are defeated because I can feel your pain. I know that you are lost and weary because I can feel your confusion. I know that you are angry and bitter because I can feel your resentment. I know that you are distant and separated because I can feel your doubt. I know that you are above it all and feel that you are better than I because I can feel your pride.

I see you. I feel you. I created you. I have never forced My love on any of you, I have given it freely. I have never forced My Son on any of you, I offered Him freely.

I look down upon you and am saddened. I look down upon you and am angered. I have given you the truth and it is there within you, yet you ignore it. You have the free will to make your own choices and that is something that I have always honored and will always honor. As a Father, I want the best for My children and have sent so many along the way to guide you and to help you and yet they are rejected and killed.

You hate each other and you hate Me. You have stopped believing in Me and have turned away. What shall I say to you?

Are the skies not blue enough for you? Are the sun and the moon not enough light to guide your days and nights? Has the earth stopped yielding her fruit? Have the waters run dry? Have you stopped being able to have children of your own? Has the earth that I provided stopped doing what it was created to do? Is it not enough to have life and learn to do something precious with that life?

Why do you hate? What makes you doubt? What more do you want that has not been given?

Each one of you was not meant to live the same life as each other. But, each one of you was meant to live a life that will challenge you, enrich you and give you the opportunity to come back home to Me. Why do you despise what you have been given?

You desire to blame Me and you desire to discard Me. I look down and see the rape of children, men and women. I see the slaughter of innocents, the lust of people acting like animals, the pride and arrogance of the doomed. I see the betrayal, the lies, the death and the deception. I see the malice and greed of so many and I see too many that use Me to gain prestige and money. I see the ruin of so many and the ignorance of more.

You may be able to look around and take note of what I am saying, but what you can’t see is all. You can’t see into the depths of hell and feel the pain and regret. You can’t know the bliss of heaven and the beauty of the kingdom. You don’t seem to care that you are blessed with today while you yet have breath in your body.

I know that I do not ask too much. I know that My ways are right. I know that life may very well seem impossible and that is why I have given you My Son. I know the human heart because I created it and I know the challenges in life because I gave you life. Each of you has a choice to make and with all of My heart I hope you choose the right one.

My children, once again I ask you to not be taken in by the lure of the lusts of this world. As much as I love you, I will not force your love upon Me. I will always allow you to choose what you hold dear and will honor your choice. I can only hope that you wake to the truth that is in your heart, where I wait to embrace you. But, it is not only believing, my child, it is acting on that belief.

Do not let the terrors of this world keep you from your reward. Do not let illnesses and broken hearts keep you from loving one another. Do not let resentments and bitterness keep you from forgiveness and peace. Do not let hatred control your actions and do not let greed drive you. Do not let pride and vanity overtake you and do not accept the gifts of the world.

My children, come home to Me, come back to Me, come to My Son and seek His loving embrace. 

Know that I love you and have not forgotten you nor forsaken you.

Love, God

LOVE THAT CROSS, PASTOR JOHN COLLINS

Pastor John Collins has been spreading the message that God wants us back for over ten years.  This world is a hard and harsh place to live and to do so without God makes us a hopeless people.  Thing is, it’s not necessary to live it alone.  God sent us Jesus to teach us through His actions and words.  Jesus taught us to love, to be like God, to be Christ-like.  We can’t be perfect, but Jesus and His sacrifice on the Cross for us makes us perfect in the eyes of God if we accept that They exist and are real.  It would be so much easier to live in a world where we let go of resentment and hate, of pride and vanity.  What people do to each other creates more of the same.  Wouldn’t it be better to create a good place to live, a peaceful place to live?  

Salvation means being saved from condemnation after we leave this body.  Condemnation comes when we reject God and His love, His existence and the existence of Jesus.  Jesus saves us because we are not perfect and we can’t be perfect without Him.  God has done so much for us, yet the world continues to slap Him in the face with hate, resentment, lies, pride and ego.  We have to humble ourselves and admit that we are wrong, that we need Jesus, that we accept His offer of salvation, then truly admit that we regret what we’ve done-sin-and let Jesus and God work the wonders of salvation in us.  It’s that simple.  The alternative is a miserable life here followed by a miserable life in eternity.   

One second after you die, you will know it’s too late to change anything.

God wants us, as many of us who will come to Him.  He is patient, forgiving, and loving.  He is just. 

As Pastor John preached, God wants us back.  It’s time to bring Him back into our lives.

Pastor John Collins, Evangelist: Jesus weeps

Pastor John Collins, Evangelist: Reviving Faith in Montana, One Church at a Time

In a revival series that was launched in fall, 2016, Pastor John Collins continues to spread the word of God, redeeming the Gospel, across the United States.  This blog post reviews excerpts from the revival tour as it traveled across Montana.

Pastor John Collins is a leading evangelist in the United States today.   

His vibrant, no nonsense style of preaching brings the Word of God, the teachings of Jesus to life.  He reaches the hearts of those who hear him. 

Pastor John Collins strives to bring God back to the United States.   

He often preaches that we as a country turned our backs to God, one person at a time, one church at a time.  It’s time to change that and bring God back into our lives, to bring hope to ourselves and to our country, one person at a time, one church at a time.  Through our own choices to serve our own will, not God’s, we as a whole have turned away from God.  The result is that our country is in the turmoil it is in now.  As the Holy Bible says, if we turn back to God with all our hearts and cry out to Him, He will hear our plea and heal our country.  More than ever, we need God.  Pastor John Collins is answering his call by God to bring the gospel to as many people as he can reach with the words that he preaches.

Pastor John Collins says:

 

“It is written in the prophets, ‘And they shall all be taught by God.’  Therefore everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to Me.”  John 6:45 (NKJV).

The teachings of Jesus were insightful and revealed the heart of the law.  He came with miracles and truth and compassion and mercy.  He came with clarity and sadness for the people.  It is sad to see people refuse to get right with God, to see people rebel in their hearts and choose their own will over God’s will.

It is sad to watch people choose to be sinners and choose to harm others to lift themselves up.  Believe me, there is still plenty today for Jesus to weep over.

Our world is filled with people choosing to self-govern and claim rational thought for themselves and believing that there is no God, that their own moral code will sustain them and see them through this life and that there is no cause to concern themselves with an eternal life.  There are people on the pulpits sharing the good news without teaching the requirements of being a follower of Christ.  There are stubborn people who choose to believe that there is not a right or a wrong way to worship God and that we get to self-determine our God and how we navigate our faith in our life and have concluded that by doing so we will enjoy the outcome that we have decided upon.  It doesn’t work that way!  God came and gave instructions on how to worship Him.  Jesus came and gave insight into the law and gave instructions on how to worship Him.   

Nothing has changed.

Grace is given and faith is free but obedience is required to claim them.  You cannot claim to be a person of faith and have fellowship with God when you are living a life of selfishness and unfaithfulness.  If you are a greedy, lying, cheating, vain, malicious, gossiper and drunk then you are not obeying God.  If you are full of bitterness and resentment and refuse to forgive those who you believe have done you wrong then you are not in obedience with God.  If you are consumed with materialism and are obsessed with your looks and your appearance then you are not in obedience with God.  If you are abusing drugs and your body and are not a believer then you are not in obedience with God.  If you are not in obedience with God then you will not see the kingdom of heaven when you die.   

It really is that simple.

 

You must obey God to claim the gifts of God.  Salvation is claimed by those who believe because those who believe will submit to the will of God and will obey God.  I am not talking about casual belief but the belief that produces results in a life, belief that produces change and purity in a life and belief that transforms a life of darkness into one of light.  There is always an opportunity to truly claim Jesus as your savior, not in word only but in truth.  You know whether your life is truly a life that would have God’s stamp of approval and there is just no reason to live in denial.  There is not any time to waste on self-indulgence and sin.  It is time to examine your existence and if you are not right with God then it is time to get right with Him.   

Believe in the Son and claim salvation. 

 

“I am the vine, you are the branches.  He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing. If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned.”  John 15:5-6 (NKJV).  

PASTOR JOHN 

 

Do we want eternal life?  Then we need to listen and hear what Pastor John Collins preaches about obedience to God.  The road to destruction is wide, but the road to heaven and salvation is narrow as it says in the book of Matthew.  The United States has been traveling the wide road to destruction for a long time, turning our backs upon God and all the blessings that He gave us when this country was founded.  We need to claim salvation for ourselves, to hear the word of God, to read the works of Jesus and the messages in the Holy Bible in order to gain back the blessings that were ours as a country, and ours as individuals.  What does God want from you?  Simple-talk to Him in prayer and start reading a good translation of the Holy Bible that does not twist the Gospel to suit the purposes of the writer or confuse the reader with what is called transliteration-man’s explanation, not God’s inspired words.   God wants us back.

Love That Cross, Pastor John Collins Wyoming: God's Love Trumps All

Montana: John Collins, Pastor and Evangelist of Love That Cross Ministries, Wyoming, teaches truth about the love of God.  

Pastor John Collins is determined to bring back God into each person, each church, one person and one church at a time.  John Collins is a pastor and an evangelist who is bringing that word of God across the United States in a new series of Hope and Trust.  The Truth of God and of Jesus Christ is being preached so that all can understand it in down to earth words so that we all can once again understand the words of Christ and what was meant when Jesus came to be our Savior from death over 2000 years ago. 
 

Pastor John Collins does not cut corners, does not pad the truth, and does not pull his punches.   

Is there God ?  Is God loving?  Is God real?  Why am I here?  These are the questions that people are still looking for, even after the Hope that is Christ was sent here to us so that we could know these answers.  Our faith is nothing compared to what those in the Holy Bible had.  The generations of people from the time of Jesus until now have watered the message down so much that the very words of the current Bible translations change the meaning of the message that God has for us! God is there for us.  

Pastor John Collins says:

 

“Now a certain ruler asked Him, saying, ‘Good Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?’ So, Jesus said to him, ‘Why do you call Me good? No one is good but One, that is, God’” Luke 18:18-19 (NKJV).

God is not only good, but great! God is just fabulous. God is faithful and true, merciful and kind, righteous and just and He loves you. God does want the best for you but He also wants you to learn to want what is best for you and that is not by your standards or the standards of the world but by His standards.

God does know what you need and I am not talking about material things. God knows what you need to assure that your soul is saved. It takes more than just a casual ‘belief’ that Jesus died on the Cross for you in order for you to obtain salvation and entry into heaven. It takes a true faith in Jesus and that faith will produce a belief in His sacrifice that is so strong that it will lead you into obedience to His will.

God will test you and you will go through tough times that will challenge your faith and belief. You will be put in situations that will give you different opportunities and the choices that you make are what adds up to a lifetime of testimony and what will ultimately be the fight of your life. Free will demands that you choose the paths of your life and each day will present itself with different choices. Are you loyal to God? Are you considering God when you make your choices and are you taking your salvation into consideration as you live your life?

Some people may think that God is absent from their lives, or that God has let them down. God is there and God is watching, waiting, and giving you the freedom to choose Him or not. God knows that the hardest lessons in life are the ones that we learn the best. Do your best to limit your frustrations in life by taking a moment to remember that life is short and what we do here matters. Remember that most of what seems overwhelming today may be forgotten a year from now. Trust that in the good times and in the bad times, God is there and has your best interests at heart. God wants you to learn to do what is right but more importantly, God wants you to want to do what is right.

God is amazing and is so beautiful and strong and capable. You can trust God and you can rely on God and know that He won’t let you down even if you may be struggling to deal with tough times in your life there is hope because God loves you. God knows what is right and good and will not let you down. Trust in Him, obey Him and believe in His Son and salvation is yours.

“The Lord bless you and keep you;

The Lord make His face shine upon you,

And be gracious to you;

The Lord lift up His countenance upon you,

And give you peace.” Numbers 6:24-26” (NKJV).

What isn’t being preached in the pulpits today is that we have to make the commitment to Christ and to God to do what is right.  We have to make the commitment to act Christ-like, to love others, to serve, to obey what His Son taught over 2000 years ago.  God IS real.  God’s NOT dead.  God IS there.  He has never stopped loving us humans, even when we deny Him, blame Him, ignore Him.  He IS the loving Father that we all want.  He loves us so much He knew we would be just this way, and He gave us the chance of salvation by sending Jesus Christ to us to help us understand, to teach us.  We all have that place for God built into our hearts.  

Pastor John encourages us to open that Bible, to read about God and His Son, to pray and to simply ask God and Jesus for help.  That’s what is expected of us.  To seek Them, with all our hearts.

LOVE THAT CROSS, PASTOR JOHN

Pastor John Collins: Heard it through the grapevine

Pastor John Collins: Heard it through the grapevine

Pastor John Collins is an evangelist that began a revival of renewal of faith in Wyoming two years ago.  He is biblically correct.  He does not pull punches and he does not preach what people want to hear, he preaches what we NEED to hear.  We have all fallen far from the glory of the Cross and the salvation that is from God through His Son Jesus Christ.  Pastor John Collins puts it bluntly and clearly so that we can understand it and uses Scripture to show us exactly what he is referring to.  God doesn’t want us to continue on in our sin and our habits that pull us away from Him. He wants us back, as many as possible, to believe in Him, to trust in Him, and to get to know Him the way that we should.  That is the message of revival that Pastor John Collins is spreading. It’s time for us to find God again, to get back to the Cross.

What we say and how we say it gets us into trouble with each other and in the eyes of God.  Gossip, being a busy body with being in others’ business, carrying tales to others, talking about others even in passing turns into sin.  With God, a sin is a sin.  Gossip and being a busybody is the same as murder in the eyes of God.  We often don’t realize that we get a thrill out of being the center of attention because we “know” something that someone else doesn’t. Evangelist Pastor John Collins preaches on gossip and slander and being a busybody in many of his sermons.  It’s time for us to recognize that what we should be talking about and how we should be speaking should reflect the Christian in us.  Talking about others hurts others, it causes them to stumble and have emotional pain.  That is not Christ-like. 

Pastor John Collins says it like this:

“I heard it through the grapevine, word on the street is, rumor has it, have you heard, what’s the latest, give me the scoop, the skinny, the 411, the juicy news, the dirt, good old fashioned gossip…the conversations we all live for, right?  There are magazines, TV shows, reality shows, locker rooms, bedrooms, living rooms, kitchens, cafeterias, basements, bathrooms, internet sites, cell phones all devoted to spreading the news of the actions of others, whether famous or not.  We do it ourselves.  We are a world that thrives on gossip.

“And besides they learn to be idle, wandering about from house to house, and not only idle but also gossips and busybodies, saying things which they ought not.” 1 Timothy 5:13

There are many people that make their careers on photos and stories about the dirt on others.  We lap it up like pigs.  We spew it out like geysers.  We love it, we live it, we don’t even notice when we are doing it.  Most people couldn’t tell you exactly what gossip is.  They are just asking about Bob and Sue, right?  Wondering if they are doing okay and ignoring that thrill that comes from finding out Sue just filed for divorce because she caught Bob cheating on her with Beth.

“But shun profane and idle babblings, for they will increase to more ungodliness.” 2 Timothy 2:16

Wyoming’s Pastor John Collins asks: 

Are our own lives so boring that we must entertain ourselves with the pain and humiliation of others?  Do we really need to know who is doing what and why?  Is it any of our business?  Isn’t there something we could be doing that is productive and good?  Isn’t there a wholesome way we could converse with each other?  Is it really any of our business to discuss the sex lives of others?  Is it proper to discuss our own sex lives with others?  Is there nothing that is sacred anymore?  Is there nothing we will not expose about someone just because we can?

“Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but what is good for necessary edification, that it may impart grace to the hearers.”  Ephesians 4:29

Gossip is the same as murder in the eyes of the Lord.  It harms people, it destroys reputations and it is just an awful way to spend your time.  It is a part of society today and it is shameful and wrong.  Think of your conversations, consider your words and know that idle speech is of the devil.  We should all cast away our joy in gossip and learn to bridle our tongues.  Be careful of what you say and what you readily listen to.  You don’t have to be polite and listen to gossip.  You can easily say, “I prefer not to hear that.”  Life can be easily simplified by not engaging in idle talk.

“But no man can tame the tongue. It is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison.” James 3:8

Your tone of voice is an indication of the true intent behind your words. Someone may say something that is true and yet the way in which it is said and the words that are chosen are either combative and malicious, calm and soothing, frank and impartial, or ingratiating and patronizing. Each of us should always be careful of intentions and try to avoid causing others to stumble in this life.

Our emotions determine our actions. When we are angry at someone and have no forgiveness in our hearts for a situation or person then our speech about anything concerning that situation or person will be hateful and bitter. When we are jealous of someone then our speech about them will be spiteful and cutting. When we are hurt we can lash out and try to hurt in return and say awful things that cannot be taken back but just becomes the next set of words and the next situation that must be repented of and forgiven. Life is exhausting if you do not manage to gain the perspective that permits you to desire to seek righteousness and obtain that goal.

“There are six things the Lord hates, seven that are detestable to him: haughty eyes, a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked schemes, feet that are quick to rush into evil, a false witness who pours out lies and a person who stirs up conflict in the community.” Proverbs 6: 16-19.

Evangelist Pastor John Collins reminds us that righteousness is doing the right thing all of the time and not just when it suits you. Jesus was righteous and His life taught that you can become righteous and you can do the right thing. You do this by choosing to learn how God sees things and by trusting that God will take care of the justice of this world. Humans are prideful and stubborn and always want to think that they are the wronged party, the misunderstood and the victimized. Humans just have that wrong.

Jesus came and showed us that life isn’t fair, life is tough, and people are judgmental and can be hateful. Jesus came and showed us that forgiveness is right, kindness is good and that God does value His children. Jesus showed us that our words have the power to hurt, heal, encourage, deflate, inspire and so many other wonderful and terrible things. You need to be willing to give your soul a chance at salvation and to that you need to be willing to obey the Lord, hear the Lord and submit to the Lord. You cannot do that if you are always right, always defensive or offensive, prideful, stubborn, unforgiving, hateful, bitter or unwilling to bend.

“Even so the tongue is a little member and boasts great things. See how great a forest a little fire kindles! And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity. The tongue is so set among our members that it defiles the whole body, and sets on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire by hell.” James 3:5-6

LOVE THAT CROSS, PASTOR JOHN COLLINS, WYOMING EVANGELIST